The holidays can be a stressful time of the year. Whether you’re planning a dinner party, shopping for the in-laws, or trying to get your well wishes in the mail before it is too late, you’ll need some help this year. We’ve got a list of apps that will promote a stress free Christmas. If all else fails, meditate.

Cards HD for iPad ($3.99)The first event that usually gets the holiday stress level high is sending greeting cards. Most people have anywhere between 30 and 50 friends and family to send Christmas cards to. It can take a really long time to write out addresses for each and every household. Plus, you’re probably not used to writing so much and may even find yourself in physical pain. Why not ease the pressure of sending holiday greetings by sending a digital card? Cards HD (formerly Lifelike Cards) let you choose from dozens of holiday-themed images aggregated from Flickr. You can send a digital card or postcard that the receiver will be able to view through email. If you are really in a hurry, just send the same image and message to everyone in your address book. Done!

Amazon Mobile (Free)The best way to be stress free for the holidays is to avoid shopping. Wouldn’t it be nice to just say “no” to presents this year? Even if you are willing to stop the shop, someone in the family will end up getting you a gift and you’ll feel bad for not reciprocating, so you might as well feed the fire. You may not be able to skip the buying frenzy this holiday season, but you can avoid participating in real life by purchasing gifts for everyone on your list through the Internet. While local shopping is better for your community, you can really keep down your stress levels by shopping with Amazon. The mobile app gives you access to your digital account, including your wish list, recommendations, and recent orders. The only thing you don’t have access to that would help with your holiday shopping is access to your saved wish lists. If you are wondering what Aunt Linda wants for Christmas, you’ll have to visit the website directly.

Hidden Objects: Gardens of Time (Free)One great way to keep your stress levels down at this time of year is with distractions. Hidden objects games (HOGs) are a great way to help you dive into fantasy and solve some good old-fashioned mysteries. If you are busy in the kitchen and the young ‘uns need something to do, sit them down with Gardens of Time for a holiday-themed HOG. Are the parents visiting for a week? Give them the gift of solving a mystery. They will love you for it and everyone will have a chance to focus on something other than each other for a while.

Pro Party Planner ($4.99)Don’t let this year’s holiday party turn you into a stress case. With the right organization tools, you can plan the best party and be the talk of the town. Pro Party Planner has everything you need to be the host with the most. Create and edit an extensive guest list, use the planning module to figure out what food, drinks, decorations, and entertainment you will need for the big event. The included shopping list makes it simple to delegate your errands accordingly. There is even an augmented reality feature that allows you to plan out decorations, rearrange furniture in your house without having to actually do the work.

Stress Relief Self-Hypnosis for iPad ($2.99) Sometimes, there is just no avoiding stress around the holiday season. If things have finally gotten you to a boiling point, you can relieve some anxiety, anger, and frustration of shopping, planning and traveling with this relaxation app. Using hypnotherapy, the app plays warm, soothing music, comforting sounds of nature, and beautiful imagery to help deepen your sense of purpose, spirituality and resilience. The sessions were developed in collaboration with certified hypnotherapist David M. Pierce to bring you a valuable stress relief session that you can replay anytime the holidays start to make your head spin.

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About Lory: Writer of all things app related, traveler of the space-time continuum, baker of really great cookies. Follow me @appaholik